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Tom Ford - part IV

In the fourth (and the upcoming fifth) part of my article, I would like to focus on the beginning of Ford's career. His more than 10 years tenure at Gucci's helm influenced heavily not only the company itself, but the fashion world in general. Texan-born, Santa Fe-raised designer paid a great attention to clothes and accessories as a child. He was "visually obsessed" from a very early age.

After graduating from prestigious Parsons School of Design in New York, finding a job was a challenge. When the opportunity presented itself in the form of a job at the small fashion house run by Cathy Hardwick, Ford did not even mention that he studied architecture, not fashion. Apparently, the young designer had been so persistent and called Hardwick so many times that she finally decided to give him a chance. When asked about his favourite designers, Ford quickly responded "Armani and Chanel", noticing that Hardwick was wearing a piece by Armani. Ford became Hardwick's assistant for a while and eventually moved on to another company- Perry Ellis (Marc Jacobs was a designer there at the time).

After several years of working for American companies, Ford got tired of American fashion world, his ambition was to be associated with a major European fashion house. In 1990, he was hired by then-creative director of Gucci- Dawn Mello, as women's ready-to-wear designer. Gucci- once successful brand had lost its magic touch, it was over-licensed and on the verge of bankruptcy. In 1993 Ford almost lost his job, when Maurizio Gucci (a major shareholder in the company) wanted to fire him. However, the intervention of Domenico de Sole (then the CEO of Gucci America and subsequently the CEO of Gucci Group) helped. In 1994, Ford became the creative director of Gucci. The company flourished under Ford's and De Sole's guidance, it rebounded from near bankruptcy and was brought to a completely different level. In 1995, the owner of Gucci- Bahrain-based investment bank (which bought Gucci in 1987 for $245 million) decided to conduct Gucci's IPO, pocketing more than $1.6 billion on selling Gucci shares.

In the meantime, Ford was becoming more and more important for the company. "Ford's dominance reached beyond aesthetics and his effect on the business of fashion was greater than any designer to come before him. Not even Ralph Lauren-the only comparable master marketer of fashion dreams- has had Ford's reach (...) But Ford's influence was felt far beyond Gucci, his visible role as a fashion tycoon changed the game of the fashion business" (Josh Patner on www.slate.com).

My name is Magdalena. I'm a personal shopper, stylist and fashion blogger. I love classics and elegance, timeless forms and cutting. My biggest inspiration are Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and Jackie Onassis . I'm a huge fan of fifties in fashion. My blog is a place where you can find my inspirations, beautiful places which I visited and all these things which I loved . This is a small window of my lifestyle.